Existing processes for the synthesis of chiral secondary alcohols and derivatives thereof require multiple steps and hence suffer from low yields. Various known processes also require expensive chiral directors such as pinanediol or a chirally active starting material such as an .alpha.-halo boronic ester. See, e.g., Brown, et al., Tetrahedron 37:3547-3587 (1981 (review); Matteson, et al., J. Am Chem. Soc. 108:810-819 (1986); Matteson, D.S., Acc. Chem. Res. 21:294-300 (1988); and Matteson, D.S. Chem. Rev. 89:1535-1551 (1989). Soai, et al., J. Orq. Chem. 56:4264-4268 (1991) describes the synthesis of optically active secondary aliphatic and aromatic alcohols by the chiral N,N-diaklynorephedrine-catalyzed enantioselective addition of dialkyl zincs to aldehydes.